Attitudes and allocations: The relationship between workers' perspectives about their jobs and time spent on casework activities

Objectives: This study brings together two streams of research, each of which has the potential to inform and improve the capacity for (cost) effective implementation of evidence-informed programs and policies in the child... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives: This study brings together two streams of research, each of which has the potential to inform and improve the capacity for (cost) effective implementation of evidence-informed programs and policies in the child protective services environment. For decades, scholars have studied the characteristics of workers and the extent to which personal qualities and perceptions influence a range of outcomes, such as worker burnout, job retention, and case-level outcomes. Various approaches have also been taken to better understand how workers use their time on the job; the potential here is to better align time allocation with system values (more time with families, less time on administrative tasks) and to ensure workers have the training they need to be effective in the time allotted. In this study we explore the relationship between child welfare workers’ perspectives and attitudes about their work and how they allocate time to an array of case-specific tasks. We hypothesized that workers with more negative worker attitudes will report time use patterns that are different (higher or lower) than the time use patterns reported by their less negative peers. That is, we hypothesized that workers’ attitudes about/perspectives on their work would be associated with the time they take to carry out casework activities.

Methods: An online staff survey was administered to 209 child welfare workers and supervisors (both in-home and foster care) and other administrators across four regions within a large Southern state in the U.S., with a 65 percent overall response rate. Respondents were presented with field-tested scales measuring their attitudes about child welfare work, perspectives on supervision and other aspects of their job, and perception of their own skills, amongst other scales. Using a method developed by researchers at Loughborough University, England, focus groups and an online survey were used to estimate the time workers spend on a comprehensive set of case-related activities. Time use data was collected from 309 workers across the same four regions, representing 100 percent of recruited workers. The resulting datasets were then linked, providing a full view of workers’ time use patterns and work-related attitudes and perspectives. After adjusting for non-response and other record matching issues, the linked dataset contains both attitudinal and time use data for 115 unique child welfare workers.
Results: Workers were asked to assess their proclivity towards child safety or family preservation. Case carrying and male staff appear to be more inclined towards a child safety orientation; regional variations were also evident. Findings from the time use study suggest that workers spend a fairly high proportion of their time on administrative tasks such as scheduling conferences, setting up family visits and documenting casework contacts. Workers are also spending a considerable amount of time monitoring family visits. Overall, communicating with family members, either in person or over the phone, accounts for about 30 percent of a worker’s time maintaining one case during a typical month. Analyses will be presented addressing: (1) the hypothesized relationship between time spent in direct contact with families and workers’ orientation towards family preservation; (2) the length of time one has been involved in child welfare work and its relationship to time spent on administrative activities; and, (3) the association between confidence in local services and time spent on administrative tasks.

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that worker level attitudes and characteristics may have an impact on the way workers’ use their time. Future research will extend the analysis presented here by considering the extent to which worker attitudes and perceptions and time use patterns influence key case outcomes, and potential cost effectiveness of different elements of the child welfare system.